On & On
Sly & Robbie Lyrics


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Rosalita, now our summer`s gone and you`ve left me all alone
You know I never expected, no I never suspected that
You came to me to seal my love away
You said I've always been a dreamer
`Cos dreaming is all I've ever done
Just like our summer, I thought it would last forever
But as the autumn came, you had gone away
All the promises you broke meant more to me than gold
Now I`m all all one in the heartbreak zone
And the winter will be cold without you
Rosalita, now our summer`s gone and you've left me all alone
You know I never expected, no I never suspected that
You came to me to seal my love away
You said I was a born loser
`Cos losing is all I've ever done
Like when I lost you, it proved that all you said was true
And now without you I feel I`m being used
All the promises you broke meant more to me than gold
Now I`m all all one in the heartbreak zone
And the winter will be cold without you my Rosalita
All there is left is a photograph
You smile and the ice cream`s meltin` down your pants
And I keep living on, you`re in the past, it`s been so long
Since the Ice Cream Summer, it`s forgotten now it`s gone
Rosalita, now our summer`s gone and you've left me all alone
You know I never expected, no I never suspected that
You came to me to seal my love away
Now you`re just a memory, don`t mean nothing more to me
A photo among others of my old friends and my lovers




And the winter is gone, a new summer`s coming on
A new summer´s coming on for you as well somewhere Rosalita

Overall Meaning

The song On & On by Sly & Robbie is a melancholic tune that depicts a love story that ends up in a heartbreak. The singer named Rosalita had come to the singer and "sealed his love away". The singer "never expected" her to leave him all alone as the summer ended. He realized soon that he was just a dreamer and losing is all he has ever done. Now with Rosalita gone, he feels used and betrayed. He reminisces about the Ice Cream Summer and how it's all forgotten now that she's gone. All that is left is a photograph and memories that don't mean anything to him. However, he hopes a new summer would come for Rosalita as well, somewhere.


Line by Line Meaning

Rosalita, now our summer’s gone and you’ve left me all alone
The summer season ended and Rosalita left me alone.


You know I never expected, no I never suspected that
I did not think you would leave me or break your promises.


You came to me to seal my love away
You entered into a relationship with me but you broke your promises and left.


You said I've always been a dreamer
You said I was unrealistic and always dreaming.


‘Cos dreaming is all I’ve ever done
I have always been a dreamer and lived in my imagination.


Just like our summer, I thought it would last forever
Just like the summer season, I believed our relationship would never end.


But as the autumn came, you had gone away
As the autumn season came, you left me and our relationship ended.


All the promises you broke meant more to me than gold
The promises you broke were more valuable to me than material wealth.


Now I’m all all one in the heartbreak zone
I am alone and heartbroken.


And the winter will be cold without you
The upcoming season will be lonely and difficult without you by my side.


You said I was a born loser
You told me that I was destined to fail.


‘Cos losing is all I've ever done
I have always lost or failed in my life.


Like when I lost you, it proved that all you said was true
Losing you validated everything you said about me being a loser.


And now without you I feel I'm being used
Without you, I feel like I was being used in our relationship.


All the promises you broke meant more to me than gold
The promises you broke were more valuable to me than material wealth.


All there is left is a photograph
The only remaining reminder of you is a photograph.


You smile and the ice cream's meltin' down your pants
The photograph shows you smiling with melted ice cream on your pants.


And I keep living on, you're in the past, it's been so long
I am still alive and moving forward without you, even though it has been a long time since we were together.


Since the Ice Cream Summer it's forgotten now it's gone
The memorable summer we shared when we had ice cream is now forgotten and in the past.


Now you're just a memory, don't mean nothing more to me
You are now just a memory, and have lost all meaning to me.


A photo among others of my old friends and my lovers
The photograph of you is now a part of my collection of old friends and past lovers.


And the winter is gone, a new summer's coming on
The winter season is over, and a new summer season is approaching.


A new summer's coming on for you as well somewhere Rosalita
A new summer season is also coming for you, wherever you are Rosalita.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY MCCOY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

darbyadvert

1) 00:00 Dirty Flirty
2) 04:03 Shabby Attack
3) 08:20 Burru Saturday
4) 12:25 Communication Breakdown
5) 16:00 Frenchman Code
6) 20:28 Riding East
7) 24:40 Ruff House
8) 28:24 Smoothie
9) 32:37 The Bomber
10) 37:07 The Great Escape



All comments from YouTube:

NYC Bass 👦 Boy

RIP To one of the best Bassists of the 20th Century. Robbie was an innovator, an AGGROVATOR.

madidina ras

Jah bless sly Dunbar.

Anthony Stephenson

RIP Robbie Shakespeare. A salute to the two greatest of all times.

Project 876 Brogad

RIP Robbie; LEGEND!

Amper-o-mat 2002

For me, this is the best dub album ever recorded. Perfect from start to finish. Dub poetry.

HeadBeagle

mE 2. :)

darbyadvert

1) 00:00 Dirty Flirty
2) 04:03 Shabby Attack
3) 08:20 Burru Saturday
4) 12:25 Communication Breakdown
5) 16:00 Frenchman Code
6) 20:28 Riding East
7) 24:40 Ruff House
8) 28:24 Smoothie
9) 32:37 The Bomber
10) 37:07 The Great Escape

Trevor Kanyowa

Thank you for posting this

Paul Bink

Thanks

Lazz Not just a Uniform

Frenchman cove? Named after beach in Jamaica.

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